Illustration: Alexi Vella

It’s a capstone to legal training in Canada, a (mandatory) rite of passage that allows law students to prove they not only have the academic chops to become full-fledged lawyers, but also the nimbleness to effectively serve their clients in the real world. Unfortunately, for many budding lawyers in Canada, articling — the “bridge” between law school and full-blown legal practice — has now become a barrier to reaching their professional aspirations.

If Canadian in-house counsel did not feel overwhelmed enough in their role protecting their companies’ interests, a new threat reached their radar screens over the course of the past year: shareholder activism.

Most law firms and corporate legal departments say they'll be giving lawyers a salary boost in 2012.

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There should soon be plenty of cheery lawyers across the land, based on the results of Canadian Lawyer’s 2011 compensation survey. If you’re a lawyer looking for work — or a change of scene — you’ll be glad to know that 44 per cent of the 60 law firms that participated in this year’s survey plan to hire more lawyers in 2011. Associates can smile over news that 63 per cent said their lawyers would receive a salary boost in 2012.

Canadian Lawyer’s 2011 legal fees survey reveals evidence of a more vibrant legal industry, with responses from over 700 lawyers across the country signaling a greater willingness to charge higher fees than in 2010, when belt-tightening was the theme in response to ongoing global economic malaise.

Behrouz Amouzgar, Atoosa Mahdavian, and Babak Nahiddi at last week’s gathering of Persian lawyers and students. Photo: Robert Todd

Iranian lawyers and law students got together last week for a networking event in downtown Toronto, demonstrating the growing influence of their community within Canada’s legal community.

Perhaps more than any other vocation, law demands lifelong learning from practitioners. Of course, lawyers face similarly unprecedented demands for their time, making it that much more difficult to meet the demand for constant retooling.

Robson Hall Faculty of Law has officially adopted the JD law degree designation.

Robson Hall Faculty of Law has officially hopped on the JD bandwagon, announcing last week the University of Manitoba senate has approved the change of its law degree name away from the traditional LLB.